The World Wide Web (“the Web”) provides a forum for obtaining information and engaging in commercial transactions. In order to provide information and/or solicit commercial transaction via the Web, a company or other Web publisher establishes a Web site. In order to establish a Web site, the publisher typically connects its own server computer system to the Internet, or secures the use of a server computer system already connected to the Internet. This server executes a Web server program to deliver Web pages and associated data to users via the Internet in response to their requests. Users make such requests using client computer systems, which are generally connected to the Internet via an Internet Service Provider (“ISP”).
On some Web sites, there are key processes whose completion by users is valuable to the publisher of the Web site. Such processes comprise a sequence of user actions that, if completed, satisfy an objective of the publisher's. For example, for merchant Web sites that sell products, the process of viewing information about a product, adding the product to a shopping basket, following a “check out” link, providing address information, providing shipping information, and confirming the transaction may constitute a key process, as it is the sequence of user actions that must be performed in order to make a sale and collect revenue. Similarly, for auction Web sites that conduct auctions, the processes of launching an auction and bidding on an auction may be key processes. Because of the importance placed on the objective by the publisher, the publisher has an interest in maximizing the number of users that complete the process to attain the objective. Accordingly, it would be useful if a publisher could easily determine how many users are completing a key process, and identify any steps in the process at which a significant percentage of users discontinue the process.
Unfortunately, no effective tools exist for analyzing and intuitively displaying the extent of user completion of key processes on a Web site. Accordingly, a facility for analyzing and intuitively displaying the extent of user completion of key processes on a Web site would have significant utility.